Eyeliner...it can be your friend

Everyone and I mean EVERYONE should have a go to black eyeliner.  I have a few that I will discuss in a second.  Whether it's pencil, liquid, gel...use it and know what styles work best with your eye shape.

First, my favorites:

Pencil: MAC Kohl Power & Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On (waterproof!)

Liquid: MAC Penultimate (pen style with foam tip - great for beginners or those that are scared of liquid liner) & Almay Liquid Eyeliner (foam tip)

Gel: MAC Fluidline (I apply with an angled/slanted brush, the same kind I use to do my eyebrows)

Pencil is obviously the most commonly used style and very easy to work with.  Now they have mechanical pencil styles, but I wouldn't recommend those for someone who wants a precise line...although they are great for smudging.  Under NO CIRCUMSTANCE do I ever recommend any brush tipped (think tiny paintbrush) eyeliners...they are very difficult to control and you almost never get a fluid line.  Foam tipped applicators are much easier to work with.

Let's face it, when it comes to liquid eyeliner, we've all done it - you know...stabbed yourself in the eye only to have your whole eye fill up with a mix of tears and liner...yeeeeah.  Don't be afraid!!

Gel and liquid liners are best for a rich precise line and essential for winged or cat eye looks.  Pencils are great for doing waterlines, both top and bottom.  OK who just freaked out because they either A) have no idea what a waterline is or B) didn't know they could line their TOP waterline.  Your waterline is the area INSIDE your lashes and yes you can do your top and bottom.  Lining your top waterline gives the appearance of thicker lashes because you are essentially filling in all your "white space".  Lining the bottom closes in larger eyes.

This chick below with the porn star nails is lining her top waterline, it's a weird thing to master, but I recommend it for almost everyone.

I rarely recommend a full lower waterlining for 2 reasons, it usually closes in your eye too much and it's nearly impossible to get it to stay!

If you insist on lining the bottom line, I'd recommend the Urban Decay 24/7 liner or some type of waterproof liner.  Once applied, use a slanted brush and go over it with black eye shadow.  That will set it and it will last much longer than liner alone.

Something to keep in mind when choosing or experimenting with eyeliner styles is this: Whichever point your eyeliner is the most dramatic is the direction your eye will pull.  For example, if your eyeliner is heaviest on the outter corner in a downward direction (not upward like a wing/cat eye look), your eyes are going to look droopy.  And inversely, a great way to open up a smaller eye is to line the top lid with the thickest liner directly in the middle (think small ant hill lol) See below...this is the same eye and the style of liner changes its shape pretty dramatically.

More often than not, I am sporting #5 and I never do #6, because that inner corner is a son of a bitch to get right.

Black is essential to anyone's collection (except for older woman, older women should be looking for grays and browns as their staple).  So experiment, see what works best for you.  Who knows maybe next you'll be ready to try COLORS!  Purple is my go to when I'm not  using black!

Quick tip: Create a wide open eye by dotting your inside corners with a light shimmery shadow.  I actually use EyeLighter by CARGO, which is designed specifically for making eyes pop.